The entirety of the next day was spent walking, traveling, and talking about business and what to expect in the coming days, maybe weeks.

"Sakura, we can't just walk mindlessly like this forever. We should find a place to settle down. Maybe not at the Hidden Leaf, but somewhere we know there's a hospital nearby."

Sakura rolled her eyes, "it's fine. I'll know when the baby's coming."

Sasuke shrugged lightly, "it's not my fault that I can't help but worry for you every once in a while." After a few more moments of walking and talking, Sasuke watched Sakura's movements, "maybe we should stop."

"It's okay. I can go about... Six more miles. Maybe seven, if we're lucky." Sakura panted and wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead, "I'm fine."

"No, Sakura. We're stopping." He grabbed her hand and pulled her in a different direction.

Sakura pouted her lips and begrudgingly followed her husband, "Sasuke, we're wasting time if we stop."

"Well, we've got all the time in the world right now." He looked back at her with a smile, "besides, I want to show you something."

"Oh?" Sakura blinked a few times, "you know where we are?"

"Yeah. I remember coming here. We're just on the coast of the Land of Waves, actually. I've stopped by here many times during my travels whenever I went to visit Gaara to discuss village duties and all."

After a few more minutes of walking, Sasuke led Sakura out of the dark, wooded forest to an open cliff. Just beyond the cliff was the ocean lined by the vivid reds, oranges, and blues of the bright sunset.

"Oh my gosh..." Sakura stared out along the horizon, her mouth open in awe, "Sasuke, this is beautiful..."

"I've been here dozens of times, and each time, it's always the same." he gestured to a bench that was already built and set not too far from them, "I sit over there and look out on the ocean thinking about things."

"'Things'?"

"Mhm. Most of the time about the future and what I have in store for myself. It doesn't really take long to think about my own opportunities because I never really believed I would even have a future for myself. I knew for sure after leaving the Hidden Leaf Village, my home, so many times, there was no hope left for me. I knew for sure that the next time I came here, everything would be the same." He paused, shut his eyes, and took a deep breath as he squeezed Sakura's hand in his own, "now, I'm standing here just as I predicted. The only difference is that my entire future has completely changed. There's still hope left for the Uchiha clan, for the village, for me... And for us."

"Sasuke..." Sakura looked up at him, "this whole time, I always knew that there'd be a bright future for you. Just look at yourself now. You're loved by so many people in the village. Plus... One more." She took his hand and set it on her stomach, "you're going to be a father, Sasuke, and I'm going to be a mother. How much brighter can our future get?"

At those words, Sasuke smiled and tried his hardest to hold back his own tears as he released Sakura's hand and hugged her tight against his chest. In return, Sakura cried tears of joy as she wrapped her arms around him and laughed.

"I'm... Going to be a father." Sasuke chuckled to himself as wiped a tear away, "Sakura, I'm going to be a father..."

Sakura laughed as she turned to look back at the sunset that hung over the cliff, "just look ahead. We still have so many years, decades, ahead of us. And it's only getting brighter from here."

______________________

About an hour passed and the couple decided to set up camp on the cliff. Sakura sat right on the edge looking out over the moon and stars' reflections on the rippling water of the ocean. She shut her eyes and heard nothing but the waves crashing against the rocks below her and the campfire crackling not too far away from her. It was a calm, peaceful night. Something she hasn't had in a long time. She took a deep breath and gasped when she felt the occasional kick from the tiny bundle of life inside of her.

"Is it still kicking?"

"Mhm."

"Is that... Normal?"

Sakura burst out laughing and rubbed her stomach, "of course. It's a good sign. It just means he's alive."

"Oh, that is good." Sasuke smiled as he sat next to her and wrapped his arm around her, "it's so peaceful..."

"I know..." Sakura sighed happily, "we haven't felt anything like this in, what, days? Months?"

"Despite all that, though, I couldn't be more stressed." Sasuke groaned as he looked down at her baby bump, "you tell me not to worry, but I just couldn't help myself."

"I suppose that's normal, too." Sakura chuckled as she rested her head on his shoulder.

After a few moments, Sasuke looked at her, "how do we know it's a boy?"

"We don't." Sakura rubbed her stomach.

"Well, we can't just assume its gender."

"You're right." Sakura giggled, "that reminds me... We should start coming up with names."

"I never thought it'd ever come down to this." Sasuke rubbed her shoulder, "I say we name him Daisuke. He'll be a big help to us and will aid us in restoring the Uchiha clan. It only seems fitting."

"You're right."

"What do you think about Akio? He will be bright and intelligent, like his mother. Takashi is a nice name, too. It means loyal. He'll remain loyal to the family."

Sakura laughed, "what happened to all that talk about not assuming the baby's gender?"

"A boy would be ideal for clan restoration." Sasuke coughed.

"But don't you think... A girl would be nice as well? She may not be able to pass on the Uchiha name, but." Sakura grinned, "there's just something about having a girl that makes it a little bit more... Special for a father."

Sasuke stared at her, "are you saying girls are better than boys?"

Sakura waved her hands in front of her in defense, "no, no! I'm just saying, that's all! By all means, if this is a girl, we can always try again to get a son, I don't mind it at all! I mean, of course, if you want to, but I don't know if you'd like to go through this all over again, and it's kind of a hassle anyways. Do you think we'll be back in the village by the time that day comes? Would it be a good idea to have another baby? Just to revive the clan? I mean, if she's a girl, she can always take her maiden name, and---"

"Okay, Sakura." Sasuke patted her back and chuckled lightly, "I think you're getting tired..."

"You're probably right. I'll stop asking questions." she rested her head on his shoulder again before she realized tears were streaming down her face, "oh my gosh, Sasuke..."

He looked down at her and held her face to look up at him.

"What if..." She cried softly, "what if the baby doesn't make it? We're in the middle of nowhere, the baby has no healthy environment to live in, what if he or she doesn't make it back to the village? What if we get attacked and the baby dies? What if I'm not ready to deliver this--"

"Sakura." Sasuke held her face steady and looked deep into her eyes, "you're telling me not to worry, so you can't worry either. Everything will be alright. I know it will."

Sakura smiled through her tears and nodded as she leaned forward and kissed him, "I-I'm sorry Darling... I think it's the hormones talking..."

Sasuke laughed lightly before pulling back, "I could imagine."

She looked out over the ocean and sighed, calming herself down, "so... You never finished giving names."

"Hm?"

"What are some names if we ever have a daughter?"

Daughter... Sasuke pursed his lips. I've only ever imagined having a son. Ever since I was younger, I understood the importance of having a son in order to pass on the Uchiha family name. I never learned how babies are created and the 50/50 chance of getting either a boy or a girl, so growing up, I always thought I was in control of my child's destiny. I always thought that I'd always have a boy. A daughter was never part of the question. But now that I understand the truth behind... This...

"I like Akemi." Sakura blushed, "I've been thinking of some girl names already. Akemi means bright and beautiful."

Sasuke looked away awkwardly, "we can name her... S-Sasura... It's a combination of our names."

Sakura shook with laughter, "Sasuke, this isn't some name we can just take from combining our names. I want it to have some form of meaning. Like the names you came up with for a son."

"Meaning, huh? How about... Yuuki? Living hope, excellence, gentleness, and superiority." Sasuke nodded with satisfaction, "that sounds like my daughter."

"Darling..." Sakura laughed, "that's all well and good, but that's not the type of 'meaning' I was looking for..."

"Then..." He looked at her and waited for a reply.

"I want to name our child in remembrance of someone important to us. Someone that's done so much to support us."

Sasuke rose a brow, "N-Naruto?"

"No, no. Someone more meaningful to you."

He sighed, "I never thought something as simple as this could be so... Difficult."

"I know what you mean." Sakura sighed, "well, it's getting late. We should get ready for bed."

"Yeah." Sasuke got up from where he was sitting and helped his wife up, "I already laid out the bedding."

"Thank you." Sakura smiled, "keep thinking of names, Darling. Maybe it'll come to us if we sleep on it."

"Mhm."

The thought ran through Sasuke's head the rest of the night, he couldn't make himself fall asleep. He leaned his head back and stared up into the star-filled sky and sighed, "someone... Meaningful to me."

He shut his eyes and let out a long sigh as his mind slowly drifted to a deep slumber.

"I want to name my child after... You."

"But why?"

"Because you've done so much for me that I never really realized. I was just blinded by my own hatred for you, as ironic as that is."

"But Sasuke, you have so much going for you right here. Why do you want to remember me?"

"Because I love you, even if you only looked down on me. Besides, I feel like I owe you something. I owe you at least my forgiveness."

"You will never have to forgive me. And Sasuke, no matter what happens to you from here on out... I will always love you."

"... Thank you."